Well, according to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the Lakers may well have tried to make that dream pairing a reality. According to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News, before the Mavs' meeting with the Utah Jazz on Friday, Cuban said, "That trade we never made for him (Nowitzki) is still the best one I never made. We never even entertained any. They (Lakers) asked about him. But it wasn’t really an offer."

When and for whom the Lakers kicked the tires on Nowitzki remains a mystery. As Sefko notes, it's possible that Bryant's name was bandied about in whatever (presumably brief) discussions took place between the front offices of L.A. and Dallas.

But if you thought watching Dirk hit his signature step-back jumpers while wearing purple and gold would be good, just imagine how nauseating it'd be—for Lakers fans, anyway—to see the Black Mamba going H.A.M. in a blue and white jersey.